Oct 2, 2026 · 13 min
Bolivia recognizes a tiny wildcat hidden in plain sight
The tilcayo is the new wild cat on the block
The tilcayo’s discovery could strengthen protection for the Yungas Forest while exposing how funding and attention bypass small wildcats.
- 1A rescued kitten from Bolivia’s Yungas Forest led researchers to identify the tilcayo as a distinct wildcat species.
- 2Genetic results became credible only after comparisons with museum specimens, historical records, and naturalist accounts ruled out earlier classification.
- 3Public excitement around the tilcayo may help protect its threatened habitat, despite small cats receiving less research funding than jaguars.
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Nogales-Ascarunz recounts realizing her genetic results might reveal a new species, then verifying the finding against museum and historical evidence.
The brief
A rescued kitten from Bolivia’s Yungas Forest looked unlike the larger cats biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarunz knew, setting an unlikely discovery in motion.
The animal had been classified as a tiger cat, but comparisons and genetic testing suggested something different—so different that Nogales-Ascarunz first assumed her results were wrong.
Scientific skepticism became the investigation’s engine: museum specimens, historical records, and naturalist accounts helped establish that the tilcayo had not already been described.
Bolivia’s excitement over the new species could support proposed legal protections and draw attention to the threatened Yungas Forest, where many animals share its habitat.
The tilcayo also exposes a conservation imbalance: small, secretive wildcats attract less funding than jaguars, making research difficult even after a breakthrough.
Mentioned
tilcayo
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